The United Nations on Tuesday warned of a dire nutrition situation for children in Yemen, calling for increased funding to scale up urgent emergency food and nutrition support.

Half of the nation's children under the age of 5 suffer from acute malnutrition, and nearly half suffer from stunting, according to a briefing to the Security Council by Ramesh Rajasingham, director of the Coordination Division of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, on behalf of UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher.

This means developmental delays and infections, and a risk of death from common illnesses nine to 12 times higher than average, said Rajasingham, adding that in a context where health care is desperately inadequate and where support services are unavailable to many, this is a life-or-death gamble for children.

"More than 17 million people are going hungry. This figure may crest 18 million by February next year. Women and children bear the brunt of this disaster," he said.

Yemen is now one of the most food-insecure countries in the world. As the economy continues to collapse and pressures on the food pipelines mount, many households with access to food can no longer afford it. Livelihoods across the public sector and agriculture and fisheries industries, among others, have been disrupted by ongoing conflict, Rajasingham warned.

In some locations, hunger and malnutrition are extreme. In camps for internally displaced persons in Abs District of Hajjah Governorate, for example, a "needs assessment mission" in July found children from displaced families dying of starvation, he said.

Families in rural areas of certain governorates are having to sell off everything that would sustain their livelihoods in the long term, like livestock, tools and their agricultural land, just to afford food for tomorrow, said Rajasingham.

He added that children are forced to work instead of going to school, and women and adolescent girls face heightened risks of domestic violence, exploitation or child marriage.

He called for direct financial support for the Yemen Humanitarian Fund, which will be releasing 20 million U.S. dollars to address the negative impacts of food insecurity.

Rajasingham reiterated that a political solution remains the only sustainable, concrete path toward a more secure and prosperous future for all people in Yemen. "Without it, current cycles of violence -- local and regional -- along with economic devolution and endemic humanitarian need, will persist," he said.